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Having more than a vested interest, I tend to keep track of autism news. Two recent articles - here and here - have shown a genetic link to autism-like symptoms. There's still some controversy over what 'causes' autism but more and more evidence shows a common factor is in the genes.
Which, for better and for worse, means autism is part and parcel of our son. It is in him, a inseparable and fundamental fact.
That doesn't have to be a reason for mourning, and it certainly isn't a reason to celebrate. It just is - part of him from the ground up, so to speak.
And while it has to define who he is in many ways, I want his main identification to be whatever he wants it to be - reader, dancer, flirter (oh yes. He can work a room in a way that Valentino would envy and take notes on) or his apparent current one of 'raiser of daddy's blood pressure'. He is a fill in the blank who happens to be autistic, not an autistic person who happens to be fill in the blank.
I've said it a lot, and I will continue to say it: My son is very, very smart and very, very cunning.
Now, cunning may have a negative connotation to it - someone who sneaks, who cheats, who cuts corners and does barely-legal or just-barely-illegal things to get an advantage. And, don't get me wrong, there may be some of that in what he does.
Take school. Just yesterday, one of his teachers was telling him how much better he was doing in her class, even talking a bit to her. I went and got him and we were walking down the hall and he was sort-of chatting to as he does. He has a thing, where he will answer some kinds of questions if you cue him with the sound of the correct answer. This may, sort of kind of, be a bit of a cheat for him, but he usually answers the question with the correct answer out of a bunch of possibilities with the same start so I'm really not sure.
He was doing that with me on some stuff and that teacher heard him, and said, "Xander! You've been holding out on me! I'm gonna make you talk more to me!"
This may or may not be to his liking. There is a possibility he had been underdoing what he could do, so he wouldn't have to do more. I'm not ruling it out.
BUT - it may also simply be a survival mechanism.
Autistic people have a huge problem with sensory issues - I used this example to a friend a few nights ago. We were out in a parking lot after tae kwon do, and I was talking/bragging about my son and how well he did things with all the assaults on his senses. I pointed to the parking lot lights and the florescent lights back in the classroom, and said "You know we see these lights as solid, but they're really flickering super fast, too fast for us to see. But some autistics can tell that. It would be like almost continually living in a strobe light, every second." Add to that the flickering on a computer screen - which is why when you see a computer screen on a TV during a news broadcast interview you'll see diagonal lines skittering down the screen over and over.
Imagine trying to work on something like that. Or be in a place with continual strobe lighting. The agonizing headache, the eyestrain, the jitteriness.
Now I don't think Xander has that issue, or if he does it's to a much lesser extent. But I think he does have pressure sensitivity, where holding things that dig in - like the ridges on a pencil, or the edges of a zipper or a button - dig in more and hurt, because the times he's tried to hold those things, he's jerked his head away like you or I would if we grabbed a hot pan off the stove. Or with talking - perhaps the teacher's voice, as pleasant as it is to you and me, may have some frequency that hits him hard and odd. Or the room full of chairs and tables make the sound bounce around, so one ear hears the words a beat after or before the other, like a CD playing the same track at different speeds through different speakers. (I seem to recall a recent report that showed nerves impulses did travel oddly in autistic people's brains, but can't recall it for sure.)
If that's the case, why not fake being unable to do something that hurts to do?
Now of course, sadly, I can't know. He can't tell me. And many things that may be troubling him is simply things he has to learn how to do, if for no other reason than to find OTHER ways to accomplish that things. Say, pens instead of pencils.
What I call cunning may be survival, or even intelligence, a necessity to getting through a day. The challenge is figuring out which box he's in - won't because he can't; won't because it hurts; won't because he doesn't want to. Given he has already showed some flashes of cunning - taking out papers he thought would get him in trouble, like I talked about earlier - it's even more difficult, since I know he's smart enough, but is he capable enough, to do certain things?
Smart AND cunning. (Like he needed any more advantages!)
One of the books I've read recently had a line in it that stuck with me. It was about getting into running, and that inevitable time when you go out and do something you've done so much before - but this time it hurts bad, and it's a struggle to finish something you've gotten through with no trouble before. It said, "Sometimes the hard is easy, and sometimes the easy is hard."
That really struck a chord with me. I think, with a little modification, that may be the perfect description of handling an autistic child.
Of course, for parents of autistic children, our easy doesn't equal most other people's easy. Since Xander's nonverbal, an easy time might be, say, if he runs out of his room screaming "ARE YOU OKAY ARE YOU OKAY?" and rubbing his back. Means he was probably bouncing on a ball in his room- see the blog entry Weightless, on the first page - and managed to scrape his back on the dresser, or the bed. A fast mystery, easily solved.
There have been other times when he's come out from his room in that upset mode we've come to recognize as "I did something wrong and know I'm going to be in trouble." A search then ensues, with the fever and zeal of DeLeon's search for the Fountain of Youth, and more often than not the same success as well. Times like those, we can only be thankful it wasn't something as obvious as a broken ceiling fan or scribbles on the wall (check and check) and wait and see wait we find later. (Of course, then I have to wonder if when I punish him for a past action he really understands that or he feels I'm just mean...)
Other moderately easy times - once again, Xan banged his head at school this week. But this time it appeared to be a flat-out 'I don't want to do what you say' moment, since when it happened his teacher said "I'm telling Daddy" and he immediately said "Gonna calm down gonna calm down." (And then, in an example of the cunning I often write about, when I picked him up he went to his lunch box, opened it up, and got out some papers that had been stuck in there and put them aside, thinking one of them was a note to me about this) Didn't work, but I gave him points for slickness.
This week I was unfortunate enough to have a migraine. For those of you who never suffered from these agonies (and there's a precise reason people 'have' headaches but there are migraine 'sufferers'), a woman I knew in my teenage years who also suffered from them told me it was the closest pain a man could get to natural childbirth. Yeah. Roll that around in your mind for a minute.
Anyway, I got nailed by one and was fortunate enough Tracy was able to come home after I got Xander so I could go to our room, crank all the fans on high, and huddle in bed while waiting for the pain to pass. There have been times I've had to handle Xander while suffering from a migraine, and while many of those times have been easy and he's been awesome, there's been the flip side as well.
Times like that make it hard to do anything, much less decipher a cryptic clue. Much as I hate to admit it, there's often been times when I've forced to just tell him to wait until Mommy gets home and see if she could figure it out. We've been lucky these times were either not too important, since he didn't repeat it for Mommy, or he worked it out for himself.
These things, and a lot more, tend to make having an autistic kid like always having to parent while having a low-grade headache and on occasion a full-blown migraine - those times when you have no idea what's going on and feel helpless you can't help and sick your child has to suffer because you can't understand him. The easy isn't always easy, and the hard can be unbearable.
Then again, these hard times do make me cherish every step he does make towards being his own person. It makes every accomplishment wonderful and something to be proud of, and respect it so much more because I know it's harder for him to do that.
That's some silver linings you won't ever get in a migraine.
Is head-banging pretty common in autistic kids? I think so, based on all my personal experience, reading and researching, volunteering with autistic kids and talking to people. It may not be a 100% correlation - autistic = head banging - but based on all I know it seems to be a usual thing.
I wonder why? I understand Xander getting frustrated for many reasons and not being able to express it, or not understanding why something only bothers him (imagine being in public and only you being able to see or hear something that drives you crazy), or just getting fed up with something that would bother anyone and having to express himself, but I wonder why it takes that form, slamming the head down.
There is one benefit - as anyone who has witnessed this will say, it's very effective at getting attention. Perhaps you imagine head-banging as some old 80's-punk-rock/heavy metal thing, where kids would bang their heads up and down near - note that word - the stage. Yeah. From what I've seen, there's rarely contact, and when there is the banger usually takes pains to not have it happen again.
Not the way Xander can do it. It be can "gentle". I've had some times when something's happened to him and he's just overwhelmed by pain, or anger, or frustration, and he'll pull me down to him and tap his head to mine. One time he had his hand slammed in a door, another time he was really sick, things like that. He takes care to be gentle, for a head butt, and it's usually not too bad. It hurts a touch, and the more he does it the more likely I'll get a bruise, but he can control himself and I can live through it with usually nothing more then a dull throb while he calms himself down.
But there are times...I wrote he banged his head on concrete getting out of the pool. Hard, no pulling back at all. All the adults around him were shocked and scared, half expecting blood to shoot out of his skull like a hose. That time at Barnes and Noble in another post, you could hear the thunk of the skull on the floor, like a soft watermelon being thumped and I felt vibrations through the floor. I saw a young child slam his head into a long table so hard everything on it jumped, from one end to the next.
It gets its message across.
People who aren't used to this can be shocked and may panic when it happens, which if you only see it now and again makes sense. It's already happened a few times at school this year - once in computer lab and once in his therapy. Both times the teachers let him stop work.
Which, I'm fairly sure, was his main goal. And hey, if it works...
(I did something like this once, doing a fairly harmless yet effective faint. I had just been diagnosed with hypoglycemia, low blood sugar. It was found that a sudden large influx of sugar combined with a equally sudden action would make me faint. In middle school, a place I hadn't exactly set afire with my intellectual prowess, I had forgot about a history test. Failing it would have dragged my grade down to single digits. LOW single digits. So at lunch, I chowed down a whole bag of Red Hot candies, and when the test was handed out stood up to ask a question. For a second, anyway.
Got me out of the test.)
Xander is both smart and cunning, a dangerous combination. He knows that freaking some particular teachers out will equal stopping some assignment he doesn't want to do. I was told about it, and checked out the rooms it happened in to see if I could see anything that might have caused him problems with his sensory issues. I didn't. Doesn't mean there's nothing there but...
This tactic loses its impact with most parents, some sooner, some later. I don't remember the exact date this happened with me, but I remember it had been a long, hard day and he was banging his head on the couch arm. I sighed and told him, "If you're going to do that, go ahead and knock yourself out, 'cause I'm tired of it all and could use a break." Now I only notice it for punishment purposes, as in if I see you bang your head and I can tell it's because you're mad, now you can be mad and in trouble as well. He's mostly stopped - it still happens and he still gets in trouble for it, but it's almost always a sign of anger or frustration. Naturally, if it happens for pain reasons, we don't punich - but we also don't freak out, just checking it out and seeing why it happened instead of being shocked or scared.
The impacts have lessened.
But there are other, less obvious ones we still have to lessen.
If we hear about a head butting incident, we tend to investigate and see if there was some cause besides stubborness or not wanting to do something. Since we can't see or feel what Xander feels, we're pretty wide open in our guessing. We've been pretty lenient too, giving him the benefit of the doubt every time we could - the 'kicking the puppy' feeling being avoided. The problem with that is he may get away with stuff a lot.
So now he's been warned we're going the opposite way, only giving him credit if it's an obvious problem. We're doing this for several reasons, not only to get him to understand the get-out-of-jail (by headbutting through a wall) card won't work anymore, but more importantly, we're trying to get him to explain what's happening. Instead of using the head butt as a catch-all reason and leave it to us to understand, we're trying to get him to make us understand by telling us what's going on.
This will lead to misunderstandings, guilt, and more than likely some trouble sleeping for me, because I know I'm going to get some things wrong. But I'm doing it anyway, trying to get him to do more, to grow some, to get a glimpse into him and give him a chance to help himself AND us by telling us his problems. We hope the impact from his head butts will be replaced by the impact from his words.
However, I fully expect some more bruises on my forehead - this time from self-impacts.
Having a nonverbal autistic child - which, really, Xander isn't, since he CAN talk, but he isn't as adept as he should be for good, or even nominal, communication - is a challenge for many reasons I've posted about before. It's kind of comparable to having a baby who isn't old enough to talk - but in some ways, much harder and worse. You don't expect or need a baby to have a give-and-take conversation with you, but with a older child you do and need to.
The hardest thing I've had to adjust to with Xander is the hurting knowledge that much of his inner life will be a mystery to me, and that ranges from the superficial to the deep.
His birthday and Christmases are not fun times for me. To be honest, I've never been a Christmas spirit man. If I'd have been a Who, I would have taken vacation every December or gone crazy from all the cheer. That precedes my little guy. But with his autism, it's gone deeper.
You want to get your child things he likes. (And of course some socks and underwear style gifts, just to be a parent.) Other parents gets hints, clues, or outright demands for what their kid wants. With Xan, it's not so easy. Probably over half of the gifts I've tried to get him are metaphorically shrugged at, maybe politely tried for a minute, and then forgotten or ignored. Unless it's obvious, I'm probably going to be wrong.
Some things can be guessed at. He liked the first Tickle-Me-Elmo, so when the next version came out I got it. But the voice was just slightly different, a bit higher, a bit more obviously electronic. If I could tell that, to Xander it was probably like the difference between a cat's meow and a snake's hiss, and it just didn't fit. I was wrong, but at least I knew why. We thought he'd enjoy riding a horse at one summer camp, but a helmet was required and anything on his head bothers him immensely.
But other things I could have sworn he would like, he doesn't, and I have no idea. Same character or same kind of game or same kind of activity or whatever.
Because he can't tell me, all I have to go on is his reaction after the fact, and a guesswork game of why. Too loud? Too hard? Colors too bright? Figure not exactly like the character on television?
But even that, as annoying, painful and frustrating as it is, is nothing compared to the fact that I don't know my son like I want to.
Does he like football? He'll watch it with me, but wil leave a lot. Baseball? Soccer? Does he want to PLAY football, or baseball, or soccer?
I know he likes How To Train Your Dragon - who's his favorite character? Toothless, Hiccup, Astrid, Gobber? Why? I don't expect deep psychological bonding or identification, but I can't even get 'I like the color black' or 'He talks funny'.
Other parents can build a mental image of their child from their likes, their dislikes, what they want to do or be and what they don't want to do or be. They can use this for the most basic things, like ruling out gifts because of a wrong color or character. Or it can be used to shape their child - since he likes to read, let's discuss his favorite book; or since he enjoys this martial arts movie let's try them out on Tae-Kwon-Do. Or it can be used to know their child - he's going to be a athlete, a scholar, good with girls.
It's harder for us to get any information like that for the easy things, and often the things we do get to know aren't the fun kind.
Most of all, I miss the chances to have a give-and-take conversation with my son, where I can learn about him and know about him more and can explain what I know and feel. To have a chance to dig deeper and get something straight from him, instead of guessing at things. To be able to get the things I can use to help him, from getting the right gift to doing things he likes to perhaps getting him into things he'll resist but love later. And having him get me more too, of course - but I really want to get to know him.
He's my son, and I love him totally. But he is very much unknown to me.
It's been one of those weekends that seem to last weeks. Xander got up Saturday and ran to see Mommy, who immediately noticed he felt quite warm. He was - 101.5. Much dosing commenced. We ended up rotating ibuprofen and acetaminophen on 3 hour timetables to bring the fever down, 'cause it would just level out on one dose, not drop. For those of you like me in math, there are 8 blocks of 3 hour spaces during a normal day. Some of these blocks, no matter how much you don't want them to, happen at the 'jeez-I-should-be-sleeping' block of time from midnight to four a.m.
Since there appears to be a cosmic law that nothing is simple for us, during the times he had a high fever, he didn't act sick at all, barring one huddling session that lasted two hours. He would run around to where I had to use the dad voice to get him to sit down, he would ask for all kinds of food and eat what was given to him and then ask for some more, he would laugh and play around and talk and yell and do everything he normally does. Had he not felt warm to the touch, we never would have known he was sick at all.
This is one of the more obvious mysteries we get to deal with. After a few days of this, he's back to his usual 98.6 degree self and back to school. Don't know what was wrong, got no idea if he was hurting, and couldn't guess when it started beyond sometime Friday night, probably. But it got better, so all's well that ends well. Unless it hasn't ended yet.
For parents that have autistic kids who also happen to be nonverbal, you get used to navigating parenthood with a blank map. Having less information than that contained in a Reader's Digest Twitter blurb seems to be an overwhelming amount to deal with. Displaying almost psychic abilities at the most minimal signs of trouble is not just normal, it's necessary. And sometimes just taking a wait-and-see, or even a let-them-scream-it-out, attitude is not the best or worst option - it's the only option.
On the one hand, it's quite bonding. It's a shorthand code only you and your child know, a personal ENIGMA connection that others can only marvel at. Many parents may say, "Only I get my child." For us, that's not exaggeration or a hope, that's as close to a law as you can get.
Of course, that limits things as well. As I've said, we don't - can't - use babysitters. Xander's been left with someone else twice, and one of those times the babysitter watched him in our new home as we moved into it, always nearby. The other time was for two hours. It would take reams of paper to explain some of the things we know instinctively now and leaps of logic and fancy to explain it.
And beyond that, there's even more mystery.
For a while, when he was younger, he'd watch the usual PBS stuff: Sesame Street, Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog. Now, at one point - I want to say when he was three to four or so, quite young - PBS would run a bumper ad from Chick-Fil-A of a child dressed in a cow suit trying to moo.
For some reason, and your guess is as good or better as mine, that just upset Xander no end. Pealing sobs, hysterical cries. We got very good at recognizing the first few musical beats of that particular ad and switching the channel as fast as we could. On the other hand and mood, a current favorite of Xander's is the Kermit the Frrrrooooooggggg T-shirt bit. Lots of laughter and us trading lines. You haven't smiled wide until you've heard him go "I am NOT emotional!" in his own way with perfect timing and stress.
How about music? He's been tending more towards my tastes, a bit louder than Tracy's. But even as a baby, one of his favorites was the Red Hot Chili Peppers, or at least certain songs of theirs. Tracy and I weren't into them at all, so that's all him. Why? Who knows? Why does he like certain parts of songs more than others?
All of this is pretty minor. What about when he comes home from school upset and the teacher doesn't know? Or, as I started this missive, when he's sick? We have to be really careful and almost paranoid when he starts acting like he feels bad, checking his temperature, his mouth (he's prone to bad ulcers), seeing if he's sneezing or coughing, checking to see if he's asking for food or eating what we give him, all kinds of vigilance.
It's tough and has to be frustrating for him. He knows something's wrong but has trouble telling us. Back when Tracy and I were in college, we got to go to Austria. Our first week there, Tracy got horrible stomach pains, to the point I was afraid she may have appendicitis. We actually tried to figure out a way to tell a doctor what was going on if they didn't speak English. Xander probably has to go through something like that whenever he feels sick if we don't notice or can't figure it out.
It has to be maddening, and not just for him. Because he's intelligent enough to TRY to tell us, and just can't get the message across. He probably has as despairing an opinion about my parenting skills as I sometimes do.
Thankfully, Tracy has a vibe with him and that goes a long way to helping. But everyday, we go through mysteries that would boggle Sherlock Holmes himself.
Whose BBC series, by the way, Xander really likes. Don't ask me why.
My wife had a birthday this week. We also celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary this year. At one point, I sat down and figured out that she and I have spent more than half our lives together - we now have more time that we've been together than we have apart.
I would think most people who know both she and I would call us both well matched and completely opposite, which is true up to a point. It's a classic yin-yang marriage. True story, which I've told a lot - if anyone gets to know me before they meet Tracy, quite often the first question they ask her when I introduce her as my wife is, "How do you put up with him?"
Fair question. Thankfully, she always has an answer.
She has her strengths, I have mine. She has her weaknesses and everybody KNOWS I've got mine. We balance each other out well with mutual support.
You may have heard the stats on marriages with autistic kids. At one point, reports of divorces were as high as over 50% and climbing, making it seem like autism was, in addition to all its other facets, a high indicator of divorce in the family. If I remember correctly, those stats have been revisited and have dropped down some, making a lasting marriage with an autistic kid better odds than a random coin flick in the air.
It can be tough. There is no doubt. We have an high-functioning autistic child, which means he can do many things 'normal' kids can do and isn't as obviously afflicted as some children are. I've posted that sometimes I don't know whether or not to explain he's autistic - we have that option. If there was some kind of odd, disturbing scale of preferred autism to have, Xander's kind would be high up there.
Still, there have been several sleepless nights, countless times of not knowing what to do and taking a blind guess, doctor visits with no better symptoms than 'something's not right', constant vigilance on top of everyday, normal lives and the psychic bumps and bruises that happen at the best of times, constant vigilance at the worst of times, 'sudden' sicknesses or problems that, once in the open, were retroactively obvious. I've been kicked in the ribs so hard I thought a rib was broken when I was holding him down for a dentist visit. We've had meltdowns happen that we were helpless to avoid, powerless to stop, and exhausted to watch. We've had to redo our entire lives, accepting that as of now, vacations won't happen unless we stay at home; that we and we alone will have to watch Xander and be ready to help; that I will stay at home and be ready to assist him in anything needed or take care of home as he stays home from school on a vague guess he could be sick that could be a complete error or a sudden emergency, and preparing for a future that could have independence or not. Remember, we have a relatively - and I mean that in the most appropriate way- light cause of autism in the family. And we still go through all of this and more things that I don't even see as strange or different anymore.
You can see why autism can be hard on marriages. There's a reason psychologists have said moms with autistic kids display the same type, amount and intensity of symptoms as soldiers who suffer from PTSD. They never say dads but I figure we're on the list somewhere. If there are any kinds of problems, having an autistic child makes it very, very hard to work on them in terms of energy and time. It's not impossible, surely several thousands to millions of families have done so, and we know many - but it sure isn't easy and can be even harder without the support and love and supernatural ability of your spouse.
Tracy and I mesh well, in all areas. We can rely on each other for help, support and opinions. I've called her countless times for her guess on what could be up with Xander when he's being especially Sphinx-like. We also balance each other on how we treat and see Xander. Tracy tends to be gentler and sweeter in getting him to work, the carrot if you will. He will respond to that - MOST of the time. When he chooses to dig in his heels and act up with Tracy, I come in. Tracy also tends to trust him more, and I tend to be a bit more careful and nervous. But, paradoxically, I tend to push him more to do more things on his own and Tracy will often step in to help. We keep each other from going to far in one direction or another and causing Xander more stress and confusion and problems.
I know that without Tracy, Xander and I would have harder and less fulfilling lives. I was lucky beyond words when I somehow got her to fall in love with me, and the free-floating being that became Xander was indefinably and immeasurably enhanced by having her as his mother.
Thanks to Tracy being there for Xander and me, we are happier and better than we would have been anywhere else.
Happy birthday honey, and even though it can't really define how much we owe you:
Xan started school again. He's already in 4th grade, and if his past years are an indication, he'll meet his goals before the end of the year and start to work on next year's. For those of you who don't have kids in special education, they tend to work to what's called Alabama Alternate Assessments, which are standards perhaps a little lower than the usual ones. Since Xan's so intelligent, we have him taught to the usual standards and beyond, as much as possible. There are some things that may be beyond him under the usual standards - such as writing out answers - but in special ed he is allowed some leeway, like pointing to the correct answers instead.
It's a balancing act, pushing him to achieve everything he can while bearing in mind that some things he just can't do. We keep him in special ed so he can take advantage of that leeway, and also so he can be allowed to get up and walk around if he's getting too frustrated or take a break, things that in a normal classroom don't happen. We'd love to see him in a normal classroom, but that's not possible right now, so we balance the special education classroom with higher standards for him.
All parents are used to figuring out the perfect balance in many areas - independence vs. obedience, or trust vs. checking up on. With Xander, we have some others as well, both unique to him and common with other autistic kids.
Past research into autistic brains have shown a part of their brain, called the mirror neurons, is deficient. The mirror neurons activates when a person watches something unfamiliar to them, and it actually fires off in the same way as if the watcher was imitating the new action Say a child is watching someone juggle. The mirror neuron area would be firing off the coordination of the hands, the eyes watching the balls float, the timing of catch and throw - which means the child can at least imitate the action, if without success the first time. He'll have the rough idea.
Autistic people tend to be lacking in this area, which means new tasks for them are literally learned from the ground up. While babies and toddlers can watch their parents do household chores and know roughly what to do in imitation. Monkey see, monkey do. For autistic people, they don't get that layout. They have to start from scratch.
This can make everyday tasks and chores be tougher and take longer, and as a parent we have to decide when he's tried enough and any more would be of no use. Then we help him, or take over. It gets done, but he loses out on learning. But even then, it's not that easy. Is he having trouble with the task itself, or is something else causing problems? For example, let's say a child is having trouble washing himself in the shower. Just won't do it. Is the issue they haven't learned how to do it yet, or perhaps the sound of the water falling bothers them so much they have to cover their ears? Or the muted light from the closed curtains seems so off they can't adjust? Or the touch of the slippery soap feels odd to them?
Where do you draw the line there? Clearly a child needs to learn how to get clean, but what if the very environment to get clean in is a minefield for them? What do you do, meet them halfway and do some, or only make them take baths, or use liquid soap, or...endless possibilities and endless points of balance, ranging from forcing the child to do it regardless of individual difficulties to doing it for them, each one with benefits and costs.
To take another area, since Xan's more nonverbal than most, we used to take any words from him as a request. So he would demand his favorite songs by saying the title. We let that happen for a while, but now make him actually ask, can-I-please-have. He's learning to use whole sentences as we push him farther. Sometimes we tell him no when he demands instead of asks, hoping he'll learn to ask instead of stop talking altogether.
How about rewards? This week Xan got his AAA ratings, which he aced. So I let him have some sweet tea and some strawberry cheesecake Jello, which was more sugar than he usually gets. So he stayed up a bit later. Luckily, I had managed to get a good level, where he was justly rewarded but not so much he got hyper, which leads to late nights, which leads to cranky mornings, which could lead to a fit or even a meltdown. Sometimes he can't be rewarded like he deserves, because that will cause problems that will be worse.
And as I addressed back in an early posting, there's a balance between won't and can't, and that's sometimes the hardest to find. Since he's intelligent, we push him a lot, and sometimes it's hard to know if he's resisting because he's had enough, or because he can't do the task. Those are the ones that haunt me the most. I've long since accepted I'm not perfect, not that there was any doubt, and can accept the usual errors of parenthood. But to get mad at and punish a child for someone they are not capable of doing is a special kind of hell for the parent and the child. It's like kicking a puppy for not doing algebra homework. Add to that Xander's smart enough to know that faking it can get him out of stuff he doesn't want to do, and now you're navigating THAT minefield at night. Blindfolded. During an earthquake.
You want your child to do everything they can do while not forcing them to do stuff they can't. It's hard to get that scale right in the middle, where effort and lenience are perfectly in balance. You can only hope you're not so far off you do damage instead, and for autistic kids and their parents that balance point is often a lot harder to get to.
'Life ain't nothing but a blending up of all the ups and downs.' - Drive By Truckers, 'Carl Perkins' Cadillac'. One of Xan's favorite groups.
Well, this week I've been sick with something, so the blended moments have mostly been yucky. Fever and that drained feeling that goes along with it, like the energy needed to do anything has been squared and your reserves halved. A sore throat that makes conversation painful and very hard to understand, which means repeating for a pain sequel. I have never been so envious of mime's abilities before. Sore muscles and joints, so everyday actions feel like the aftereffects of a vigorous workout.
Life doesn't stop when you're sick, and this is more true when you have a child, and even more true when you have an autistic child. Still have to fix meals, check on him, give him a bath, and more. I have no one to blame here but me - I'm the cautious and careful one, and perhaps if I had pushed more he'd be more independent. When you're sick, you'd like a LOT of independence from your child.
But good things still happen.
I was very tired - bad night sleeping and feeling rough. So I wanted to take a nap while Tracy was at work. I convinced Xan to play in his room for a while, stretched out on the couch, and fell into an exhausted sleep for about an hour.
When I woke up, I felt really hot, and guessed my fever spiked.
Turns out when I slept, Xan had come out of his room, bringing his blanket, covered me up, and went back to his room.
That was a moment that was definitely an up, one I will remember for quite some time, and one I had to brag about.
You adjust things to be your new normal. When Tracy was pregnant with our little guy, if someone would have told me the things we would have to do for Xander, I doubt I would been as accepting and cavalier about it as I am today. Normality is different for everyone and you get used to whatever circumstances you're in.
In the same way you get adjusted, you also accept what you go through as normal, and normal it stays. Sometimes you're so immersed in your normal that you don't notice small, incremental changes. At camp, many counselors mentioned how much more Xan was talking since last time and how verbal he was getting. I didn't see that, since I'm with him all the time and small changes/little improvements blend together into day by day normal. But people who hadn't seen him for a while noticed.
So new people see Xan different than I do.
Tracy and I see Xander differently too. I tend to be more cautious and nervous about him trying new things. If I had my way, he'd probably stay home a lot more - I've seen the meltdowns and had to deal with the damage, and that's things you don't want repeated. Tracy, though, wants to see him do things and is more willing to take 'risks' and push him a bit more. It's a good balance between us - she won't let him stagnate and I can keep him with what he can handle. I'm happy for that. I know that sometimes I choose the safety of routine over the chance of new experiences, which is not good. I need her to see things her way and push me out of what I'm used to.
So Tracy and I see Xan differently.
Because Xan is high-level, sometimes I have a problem. People will talk to him and he'll do various things in response. Maybe echolalia, where he repeats the last few words said to him. Perhaps covers his ears, or keens happily at them, or holds out his hand in a gimme-high-five gesture. Sometimes I don't know if I need to explain he's autistic. There are times when an explanation is mandatory. We were shopping, and next to us was a family with a teenage girl. She was wearing something shimmery and Xan was fascinated. So he leaned out of the cart and began stroking it...unfortunately, the part he reached was a part you don't stroke in public. She turned around ready to be upset - most justifiably - and I rushed in to apologize and explain. She forgave me, let him touch her shirt some more, on the sleeve, and her family and I talked a bit.
Other times, I don't know if I should make an excuse for him or just not say anything. Is whatever he's doing at that moment normal enough that it's not a big deal, and my explaining sets him apart when he didn't need to be? That may seem strange, but I don't want to jump into giving him a reason to be different if it's not needed. Cases like that, in my mind, come down to if Xander understands - is he aware of social cues and choosing to ignore them, or does he understand and I'm not giving him a chance to be 'normal'? It's hard to say. Many parents of autistic children, once communication is set up in a give-and-take conversation, find their kids understood a lot more than ever thought, in all areas. When my mom died suddenly last year, we didn't think Xan would really understand what was going on - we explained it to him as best we could, but I guessed that given his youth and his autism he wouldn't wholly get it.
I was so wrong, and that's stood out as one of my biggest regrets. He ended up breaking down at the graveside service. He also has never asked to 'go see Nana' since then. He was grieving without crying. Maybe someone else would have noticed that - I didn't. He seemed his usual self. Maybe someone else would have seen clues he was in mourning.
Perhaps the biggest reason he needs to do more is so I can see how other people see him, and what they notice I don't. Maybe he can see more of himself too, reflected in other people's eyes.


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Not from Boston ( not for the last 40 years, anyway ) but I would more likely estimate the labor at 2 days, $250 per hour total.
As for the equipment, a contractor has to apply a significant markup on the stuff he sells you, for the simple reason that ....unlike something you buy online.....he has to provide labor for the warranty service. That thing you buy online, if something goes wrong, you PAY someone to come and fix it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Blenders & Food Processors
Blendtec Carafe (Jar) WILDSIDE
WildSide Jar
Our square design with the fifth side takes blending to the extreme! Now approved for home use on all 13 AMP Blendtec residential blenders! Large capacity three-quart BPA-free jar with 4" blade and easy-open vented gripper lid.
Features include all the unique Blendtec advantages:
The unique Blendtec advantages combine to produce a better blending vortex to micronize fruits and vegetables and make their nutrients more bio-available to the body.
3-year warranty on jar.
HOME USE ONLY-COMMERCIAL USE WILL VOID WARRANTY. Warranty: 3 Years - [US and Canada only]
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.


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I've been doing a lot of thinking and reading about GMO's lately and am wondering what you think. Is genetic engineering inherently destructive and bad for ecology, the planet, and us? Or are there circumstances in which GMOs could be used ethically?
If you have an opinion (I suspect that many of you do) please share it in the comment board. If the genetic engineering is inherently wrong, why? If not than under what conditions should genetic engineering be considered? I welcome your thought!


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tl;dr MyFax Support sucks. Getting 'Mydll_NT: Error in function: dAddPortMonitor, Error code: 126.' installing the Print-to-Fax Assistant? Run msiexec /i myfaxassistantsetup.msi /q and install in silent mode. Dear j2 Global Communications/Protus/MyFax: Please remind your company to care about their software and the people that use it. In particular, you need to provide support for the […]
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A FOX 29 News crew was at the 97.5-FM "The Fanatic" studios Thursday afternoon as former Phillie Darren Daulton did a phone interview with fellow radio host Mike Missanelli.
"Dutch" called in from Florida, where he's receiving treatment near his home.
The popular former Philadelphia catcher has been diagnosed with highly malignant brain tumor called a glioblastoma.
Last month, the 51-year-old underwent surgery. He's expected to receive radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
"Dutch" said he has a little bit of trouble talking, which started before the diagnosis.
Missanelli told him there has been an outpouring of love, good wishes and prayer.
"Well, thank you, Mike," Daulton said. "And thanks to everybody. The fans, they're just phenomenal right now, and everybody with 97.5 The Fanatic, you know, I'm missing this."
Daulton said he's planning to be in town for the Phillies alumni events this weekend, where the Phillies' 1993 pennant-winning team will be honored after 20 years.
"It's what I've done my whole life, and I just enjoy being with the fans. So, I'm glad to be back and be a part of this ... with the alumni," Daulton said.
Daulton was joking during the interview, and Missanelli said he sounded good.
He also talked to Missanelli about his love for Philly, calling the city "his family," and he expressed his hope for the future during the interview.
"It's Philadelphia. I mean ... it's really like my family now," Daulton said. "And going through this thing -- you know, I mean, my God, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. And, you know, this thing's going to work out. I know that, and I feel great right now. But being part of and doing what we're doing right now, I just love it, Mike. And I thank everybody that's a part of this."
If you'd like to send your well wishes to "Dutch," you can do so at this email address: firstname.lastname@example.com.
The radio station is promoting T-shirts that are being sold to benefit the Darren Daulton Foundation. You can get information on those by clicking here.
And a new website, www.RIGHTonFIGHTon.ORG program has been started to raise awareness and funding for cancer patients in the United States.
WATCH LIVE: FOX 29 News At 5 & 6
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Early morning, Gunung Bromo, East Java, Indonesia
Early morning, Gunung Bromo, East Java, Indonesia
Taken on: 16th December, 2011. Copyright: All Rights Reserved - See travelfishery's page of Flickr
Read more about Gunung Bromo
Gunung Bromo is the jewel in the crown of East Java tourist attractions and ranks as one of Southeast Asia's premier natural wonders. Located high in the hills 40 kilometres from the dusty town of Probolinggo on East Java's north coast and more or less due east of Malang, the area around the active volcano was one of the last refuges of the former Majapahit empire, which ruled most of Java and Bali in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Most tourists visit the area to get up before dawn so that they can catch sunrise over the stunning moon-like Tengger Caldera, which contains the active Gunung Bromo among a cluster of other volcanoes. Sitting right on the edge of the caldera is the town of Cemoro Lawang which is the most popular town for visitors to stay in. From here it is possible to walk to many ... Read our complete Gunung Bromo travel guide


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The lineup of Smashing Pumpkins is, from left, bassist Nicole Fiorentino, frontman Billy Corgan, drummer Mike Byrne and guitarist Jeff Schroeder. The Pumpkins play the State on Saturday.
By Ray Routhier
Staff Writer
Billy Corgan recently opened a tea house -- Madame Zuzu's -- in his suburban Chicago hometown of Highland Park, Ill.
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman said he wanted a place close to home where he could explore his art, interact with folks, play acoustic guitar and sip some tea.
Is this the "angry" Billy Corgan we've read so much about? The Billy Corgan who supposedly rails against folks who claim his band isn't what it used to be?
"I think it's that a lot of people misunderstood philosophically what the Smashing Pumpkins were designed to be -- not a commercial entity but an artistic one, with me evoking a different set of emotions at different times," said Corgan, 45. "I did get angry, and motivated, when I woke up one day and realized that I couldn't do Pumpkins 1993 just because everyone wanted me to. I realized I had to get back to being radical, musically."
"When you've had success, people in the music industry want you to keep making music that sounds familiar to people. In alternative music now, the big thing is the record company wants you to make music that sounds like it did 20 years ago," said Corgan. "But if I had gone with the flow 20 years ago, if we hadn't tried to do something radical, I wouldn't be talking to you now."
Corgan certainly has put a lot of thought into the state of the music business today and where he and Smashing Pumpkins -- he's the only original member -- fit in. The Pumpkins will bring their music, including songs from the new album "Oceania," to a show at the State Theatre on Saturday.
On one of his several past trips to Portland, Corgan and his band were presented with the key to the city by then-Portland Mayor Nicholas Mavodones. It was 2000, and Smashing Pumpkins had been doing a lot of charity fundraising, for which they received keys and proclamations in several cities.
Corgan isn't sure he still has the Portland key, but he does have a room in his house where he's kept those proclamations.
"We were certainly humbled at that time, getting keys to the city and proclamations," he said. "But it always made me laugh a little bit. It made me think of those old 'Batman' episodes with someone getting a key to Gotham City."
Released in June, "Oceania" is the result of an experiment in organic song developing. Corgan said he was tired of the hype and expectations of making albums for record companies, so for this album, he and his bandmates decided to just start making and releasing recordings -- online or on EPs -- and see what developed.
It was from doing this over the last few years that the songs for "Oceania" were born. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart.
"After playing a super contentious 20th anniversary tour, where people threw stuff at us because we didn't play the old songs, I realized that I had to find whatever it was that aroused my passion for this in the first place or get off this train now," said Corgan.
That passion, he found, was making music and not paying attention to what critics and writers said about it.
Smashing Pumpkins was formed in Chicago in the late 1980s and became one of the biggest acts of alternative and modern rock movements of the early 1990s with the albums "Gish" and "Siamese Dream."
The band reached its pinnacle of success in 1995, when the album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.
By around 2000, after internal fighting and drug use by members, the band broke up. Corgan relaunched the band with new members in 2007.
Now that Corgan has a new Smashing Pumpkins, he says he really doesn't want to go back to the old ways. For instance, he doesn't like the idea of in-store record-signing appearances.
It's not that he doesn't want to meet fans, but he thinks most people are weary of hype for hype's sake.
"I think it's hard today to differentiate between hipster hype, material or commercial hype, and good old-fashioned human curiosity," he said.
Corgan has also found a sort of spiritual peace, after some "moribund" moments and a few suicidal thoughts. He doesn't practice any organized religion, but he does believe in a "divine order."
"I trust that there's a divine order, and if I live right, and love right, more good things will happen to me," said Corgan.
Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:
© 2014 The Portland Press Herald - All Rights Reserved.
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NWHNA is set in Portland's West Hills surrounded with natural beauty yet offering the comforts and convenience of an urban lifestyle. In close proximity to both downtown Portland and the Sunset Corridor, there are six individual residential developments cascading down the slopes around the premier planned community of Forest Heights. The neighborhood boasts the newest elementary school in the Lincoln district of Portland Public Schools as well as a host of private institutions. A city park along with a village center offers added enjoyment.
For more information, contact Charles Clark, President.


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Flareon is often considered one of the weaker 'Eeveelutions' due to his bad Defense, HP, and Speed; lack of strong physical STAB despite his high Attack stat; and Stealth Rock weakness thanks to his Fire typing. However, even with all these drawbacks, Flareon can still perform some niche roles with his high Special Defense and access to Wish. Flareon is not 2HKOed by most bulky Water-types and is a great counter to specially-offensive Grass-types and Moltres (without Toxic), which allows him ample opportunities to support his teammates with Wish while attempting to stall out the opponent.
This is something that Fire-types like Blaziken and Houndoom can't do. Flareon's job is to keep his team healthy with Wish and stall enemies such as Chansey and even Milotic out with a combination of Wish, Protect, and Toxic. He can also counter common threats such as offensive Moltres, special Venusaur, Sceptile, Arcanine (special and bulky sets without Toxic), Rotom, and Alakazam. The basic idea is to switch Flareon in on a Pokemon he can force out, such as Sceptile, and proceed to use Wish as it switches out. When the opponent reveals their Flareon counter, he is free to switch to the appropriate teammate who can tank the incoming hit and then regain health from Flareon's Wish. Protect allows Flareon to heal himself with Wish and also stall for Toxic damage. Lava Plume keeps physical attackers from switching in freely as they risk a burn, while Flamethrower has more Base Power and a lower burn rate, which may be more beneficial when dealing with bulky Water-types such as Milotic and Slowbro as the burn grants them immunity to Toxic.Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Although Flareon is often shunned in favor of faster Fire-types such as Magmortar and Blaziken, it can boost its offensive potential by holding a Choice Scarf to overcome its middling Speed, allowing it to outspeed all non-boosted Pokemon in the metagame bar Electrode and Swellow. Flareon's offensive stats ensure that it can tear through opposing teams, while its base 110 Special Defense stat gives Flareon much needed bulk, a trait that other Fire-types like Houndoom lack. Fire Blast is Flareon's STAB move of choice, defeating bothersome Pokemon such as Sceptile with ease. Return deals neutral damage to many UU Pokemon, while Superpower punishes Rock-types such as Rhyperior and Aggron hoping to switch into a predicted Fire Blast or Return. Hidden Power Grass rounds out the set, providing valuable coverage against difficult Pokémon like Quagsire, who would otherwise threaten Flareon easily with Toxic and Earthquake.Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Other Options
Flareon's movepool is shallow but he still has some options. Yawn can be used to force the opponent out under the threat of sleep. A Life Orb boosted mixed attacker set with Superpower / Fire Blast / Return / Hidden Power Grass may be used for breaking down walls such as Clefable and Steelix, but is outclassed by Magmortar and Blaziken as they are faster and hit harder. Quick Attack provides priority, but with no STAB and weak Base Power, Return is almost always a better option. Will-O-Wisp burns physical attackers such as Azumarill and Rhyperior who want to hit Flareon on his weaker Defense stat, but Lava Plume still has a good 30% chance to burn switch-ins. You can use Fire Fang and a Careful nature on the Wish set since Flareon's Attack is higher than its Special Attack; this allows Flareon to hit Chansey and specially-defensive Pokémon such as Registeel harder, but with the low Base Power of Fire Fang and high Defense stats of other counters such as Rhyperior and Donphan, it is a lesser option. Iron Tail damages Rock-types and doesn't lower Flareon's Attack and Defense like Superpower does but it has no real use outside of that. Flareon can use Heal Bell but it's hard to give up one of his other moves and there are better choices for clerics such as Chansey and Clefable. Roar is good for shuffling the opponent's team around and stopping stat-uppers.
A Choice Band set lets Flareon hit harder but again is outclassed since Flareon has no good physical STAB outside of Fire Fang. Choice Specs runs off Flareon's lower Special Attack stat, but Overheat can dent any Pokemon who doesn't resist it. A Baton Pass set with Wish, Lava Plume, and either Substitute or Curse could be useful, but Flareon has no real opportunities to set up and is outclassed by Blaziken, who has access to Agility and Swords Dance. For more Speed, 140 EVs with a neutral nature allow Flareon to outspeed 4 Speed Milotic and Venusaur, while 168 EVs outspeed 0 Speed Base 85s. However, it is almost always more useful to invest in Flareon's defenses as he already outspeeds some slower walls like Slowbro who don't invest in Speed.
Checks and Counters
Most Rock- and Ground-types are counters to sets without Hidden Power Grass or Superpower but they need to watch out for a burn from Lava Plume. Bulky Water-types can be outstalled by the standard set but are good counters to the offensive sets. Although not as common, more offensive Water-types such as Calm Mind Slowbro and Life Orb Milotic can 2HKO Flareon with Surf or even OHKO with Hydro Pump. RestTalkers, such as Spiritomb, can just Rest off the poison and stall Flareon out.
Flareon is suspect to all forms of entry hazards and has many weaknesses to common types, such as Ground and Water, so getting Stealth Rock and Spikes on the field will severely limit his lifespan.


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Book Review: Color Her Complex
The interwar memoirs of the expat Anita Reynolds reflect her puckish parrying of racial categorization.
- Book Review: Taking Heed of the Heartland
- Jingo Unchained
New Scholarly Books
Weekly Book List, April 18, 2014
Descriptions of the latest books, divided by category.
- Weekly Book List, April 11, 2014
- Weekly Book List, April 4, 2014
Hot Type
Hot Off the (Library) Press
Scholarly publishing by college libraries takes wildly different forms at different institutions. A new coalition is trying to make connections and share expertise.
- 'Social Reading' Projects Bring Commentary Into the Text
- Hot Type: Art Publishers Look to Yale Press for Glimpse of Digital Future
- Push for Open Access Goes Global
PageViewView more >>
Nota Bene
Camels, Commerce, and Fiber-Optic Cables
A new book takes on a digital tale of free speech and free trade.
- Ever Toyed With Schadenfreude?
- A Lost Generation of Jewish Composers
- Aid That Does Not Help


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posted 8/8/2012 by
Cyril Lachel
other articles
by Cyril Lachel
Ten years ago, after seeing the overwhelming response to their first few Pro Skater games, Activision signed a deal that would keep Tony Hawk with the company until 2015. While that may have seemed like a can't-miss deal a decade ago, these days there's a lot of baggage attached to the Tony Hawk brand. After a dozen iterations and two failed motion-controlled experiments, the Birdman seems to have lost some of his feathers.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is a step in the right direction. It recaptures all of the classic moments we couldn't get enough of ten years ago. Gone are the pointless story elements and overly complicated combo additions introduced in recent iterations, in their place is the classic fun of pulling off challenges and besting your friend's high scores.
You know the rules: Players have two minutes to complete a series of ten challenges. Usually these goals involve skaters racking up big points, finding hidden DVDs (which used to be video cassettes), snagging collectibles, picking up money and tricking over gaps. The good news is that you aren't required to complete all ten goals in one run, so take your time and get to know every inch of the game's seven stages.
The game's locations are pulled from the first two Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games on the original PlayStation. You get Warehouse, Downhill Jam and the Mall from the 1999 original, as well as School II, the Hanger, Venice Beach and Marseilles from the sequel. With the exception of a new coat of paint, these stages are laid out exactly as you remember them. They are big, clunky and full of exploits. But that's perfect; it's exactly what the title promises.
Going in I expected an old school experience, but I wasn't prepared for how rigid the gameplay actually is. For example, the game has manuals, but does not include reverts (first introduced in Pro Skater 3). While this certainly feels more accurate to the levels in this package, I found it nearly impossible to adjust to the lack of the revert. As far as I'm concerned, the revert was the final piece in the combo puzzle, and without it the game doesn't feel right.
The game's seven stages are a little hit or miss, with a couple real stinkers. It's hard to argue against the genuine classics, such as School II, the Warehouse and Venice Beach. However, the Hanger feels too much like the Warehouse for my taste and Marseilles doesn't have the most interesting layout. Worse yet, the inclusion of Downhill Jam is simply baffling. Even if you love each and every one of these stages, you'll likely feel shortchanged with only seven to choose from.
Complaints about the paltry number of levels aside, it sure is nice to have a fresh coat of paint on some of these formerly 32-bit locations. Downhill Jam is full of toxic chemicals, vegetation and realistic construction equipment. The helicopter inside the Hanger is no longer a blob with blades; it now looks like something out of Modern Warfare 3. All seven stages have gone through a drastic make-over, which drags them kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
That's not to say that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is a great looking game. In fact, much of this downloadable title is ugly. Compared to a 13 year old PlayStation game, these HD levels look out of this world. However, compared to modern games (or even recent Tony Hawk installments), the visuals are woefully lackluster. The few realistic skaters in the roster look weird in these environments and I miss the create-a-skater mode from past installments.
The soundtrack is also disappointing, as it only includes a few songs from each title. The good news is that you can drop your own songs into the game, but skaters stuck with only the original audio will grow tired of hearing the same dozen songs repeated ad nauseum.
There's nothing wrong with Tony Hawk's first downloadable Xbox Live Arcade release. It's not a broken game with a rushed feel; it's an admirable way to rehabilitate the struggling brand. But even though it doesn't crash and burn, it also doesn't feel very original or fresh. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD delivers everything the title suggests and nothing more. With only a few levels to choose from and an outdated look, this long overdue release is a bit of a letdown.
More On:
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD
Activision Blizzard
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company for review.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD may accomplish all of its goals, but there is still a lot to be desired. The graphics are outdated, the gameplay is missing a key component, there aren't enough levels and the create-a-character mode has been removed entirely. If you can get around these disappointments, you'll find a good, but not great, skating game for cheap!
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Lexington News
Local news for Lexington, KY continually updated from thousands of sources on the web.
19 hrs ago | KSL-TV
News briefs from around Kentucky at 1:59 a.m. EDT
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday told the Lexington Herald-Leader that the initiative - tentatively called the Kentucky Core Academic Standards Challenge - will begin in the fall.
Trending on the Topix Network
Lexington seems to be gaining a new appreciation for its famous Faulkner
Lexington artist Henry Faulkner worked on a painting of the Hunt Morgan House while sitting on the sidewalk at the southeast corner of Mill and Second streets in 1972.
Two are accused of stealing from Frankfort man who sought sex online
A 17-year-old girl and a 19-year-old man have been charged with first-degree robbery of a man who had tried to solicit sex online, police say.
Two injured in Wyan Road crash
A collision with a tree on Wyan Road on Tuesday night sent two Laurel men to a Lexington hospital with serious injuries.
Pop Design: Ghostbusters, Breaking Bad, Mario and More
Not long ago, we went hunting for some pop culture design-rich work at the Wizard World Louisville Comic Con .
Federal lawsuit says woman was forced into domestic servitude by another refugee
A Congolese refugee living in Lexington contacted a national human-trafficking hotline last April, saying she was being held in servitude, according to a federal lawsuit.
State officials file annual financial disclosure forms
Gov. Steve Beshear and his wife, Jane Beshear, added another source of income last year through the sale of a horse.
UK Police arrest arson suspects
Authorities say her business made a gross income of over $590,000 in 16 months. So why was she on food stamps? Authorities say her business made a gross income of over $590,000 in 16 months.
SOAR must strive to be democratic; legislature must reform severance spending
To participate in one of SOAR's working groups, contact the SOAR office at 606-444-5127 or 606-437-5127.
Parents upset about bathroom break schedule note sent home with young children
A note sent home with a class of children from an elementary school in Lexington, Kentucky has upset some parents.
Some of The Stories You'll See Tonight On LEX 18 News At 11... April 17, 2014
One man is dead and another is seriously injured, after they were shot while hunting this morning.
National homeless advocate praises Lexington for new hire, affordable housing funding
A national advocate for the homeless praised city leaders for hiring a director to coordinate homeless services and for setting aside money to address affordable housing.
Best Bets: Entertain these options for your weekend
The world's longest inverted roller coaster, The Banshee, debuts Friday at Kings Island.
Low inventory for Lexington home buyers
We met Rock Daniels at a home on Headley Avenue in Lexington. The home was built in 1905.
Lexington city leaders celebrate 50th anniversary of classic car
An event held in Lexington Thursday was about more than just the 50th birthday celebration of a classic American car.
A funny spin on Japanese theater hits the stage at Lexington's Lyric Theatre
Katsura Sunshine, a master of raguko, a traditional Japanese spoken-word art form, will present a show Friday at the Lyric Theatre.
Mayor Gray says it's too early to predict how lack of funding will affect Rupp project
Designs released February 10, 2014 show the renovations of Rupp Arena and the Lexington Convention Center.
We've had just enough cloud cover overnight to keep us from getting much colder- we're in the 30s and 40s Thursday morning with a ten degree split between Lexington and Danville! The most likely areas to get close to freezing this morning will be eastern valleys and the usual cold spots.
ProSource to open offices in Louisville and Lexington
The Cincinnati-based company's Kentucky expansion is part of a long-term plan, according to Taylor Strong , team experience manager for ProSource, which specializes in office technology, copying, printing, document management and information technology.
Sazerac plans $71 million expansions at 3 Kentucky distilleries
Sazerac, which owns Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, the Barton 1792 in Bardstown and The Glenmore in Owensboro, announced Wednesday $71 million in expansions at the three distilleries to meet growing demand for Kentucky bourbon and other spirits.


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Slideshow posted in Photos | Tuesday, January 03, 2012
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Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, who starred together in the 2011 superhero movie 'Green Lantern,' tied the knot on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, at Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, near Charleston, according to People magazine.
The outlet added that the actress' friend, Florence Welch of the band Florence + The Machine, performed at the ceremony. Reps for the two actors had no immediate comment.
Reynolds, 35, played the superhero and alter ego Hal Jordan in "Green Lantern," while Lively, 25, portrayed his love interest, Carol Ferris. She is also known for her role as Serena on the CW drama series 'Gossip Girl.'
The two were first linked romantically around the fall of 2011, several months after 'Green Lantern' was released. They have kept mum when asked about their reported relationship. People magazine reported that the two had earlier this year bought a home together in Bedford, New York.
Reynolds, a former Canadian child star who was named the 'Sexiest Man Alive' in 2010 by People, was previously married for two years to actress Scarlett Johansson. Their finalized their divorce in July 2011. Lively, who once dated her 'Gossip Girl' co-star Penn Badgely and has in the past also been linked romantically to Leonardo DiCaprio, has never been married before.
(Pictured: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds appear in a scene from the 2011 movie 'Green Lantern.')
(Warner Bros. Pictures)


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Longtime bar popular with African-American men in Capitol Hill area.
The popular Levi/leather bar's origins date to the 1960s. Features billiards, regular tournaments and other special events. Located near the convention center, two blocks north of Gallery Place Metro. Known for parties like Otter Xing.
Longtime bar popular with African-American men in Brookland neighborhood; hosts regular ladies night. Check web site for special events.
In Dupont Circle area; popular with men but hosts regular women's events.
Freddie Lutz's Virginia establishment includes a restaurant and friendly bar, regular specials and is popular with men and women. Crystal City Metro.
Latin gay club open every Friday at 10:30 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. $10 at door, 21 and over only.
Large entertainment complex featuring friendly pub, lesbian bar Sappho's upstairs and a dance club on the first floor.
Friendly bar for men hosts regular happy hours and special events, including karaoke and shirtless drink special nights. Check web site for details. McPherson Square Metro. Known for parties like Code.
Large club popular with men and women featuring billiards, top DJs/dancing, karaoke, videos and more. Opened in 1972, Hippo's motto is "where everyone is welcome."


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A lot of people seem to be running into problems when they restore/upgrade (are these the same thing) to 2.2.1. It's gotten me a little worried. I'm currently on jailbroken 1.1.4 firmware.
Everybody seems to be using the iclarified tutorial:
iClarified - iPhone - How to Unlock/Jailbreak Your 2.x.x 2G iPhone Using QuickPwn (Windows)
hussain93 has posted a slightly different version:
1) Place ur iphone in DFU mode by the following method:
a. Connect the iPhone and your Mac/PC
b. Shut down iTunes
c. Hold Power/Sleep until the red slider shows up, slide to shut the iPhone down. If this aint work hold Power/Sleep and Home until the iPhone shuts down.
d. Hold Start/Sleep and Home for 10 seconds (I count like 100, 200, 300, ..)
e. Let go of Start/Sleep but keep holding Home until...
f. ... iTunes starts up and finds an iPhone in restore/recovery mode. The iPhone screen is black.
2) Download iphone 2.2.1 restore image from here---> http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite....1_Restore.ipsw
3) Hold shift (windows)/option (mac) and click on restore in itunes, then locate the image u downloaded in step 2
4) Download quickpwn (windows) from here---> http://miphone.ca/iphone-dev/QuickPwn225-2.zip
5) Run quickpwn and follow the onscreen instructions to jailbreak/unlock. Unlocking via quickpwn is only possible if ur running on windows, on a mac u need to manually install bootneuter from cydia after activating/jailbreaking using quickpwn, or u could use pwnage tool instead of quickpwn.
Neither says anything about removing the SIM first but I've read this in other places. Is this correct?
Anyone have any thoughts on which version I should use?


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My question to Audition dev team is do you plan to implement these functionalities in the final version of Audition for Mac?
In my opininon these features were very useful in sound design.
Gabor from Hungary
Hello Gabor,
Unfortunately, these were two features which we did not have time to complete for this release. While most of our customers did not use these very much, and thus they were prioritized rather low, I can assure you that the development team loves these features and intends to see them back in the application at the first opportunity. In the meantime, there are some VSTs that can accomplish much of the same functionality, and we do intend to include a generous selection of generated tones, sweeps, and noise in the collection of sound effects that will be available in the final product.
I'll add your name to the feature request for these two features.
Me too, i use this tool all the time
Yes, I am also sorely missing the Generate menu. I am beyond excited to finally have Audition for Mac, but without all the features, it's difficult, difficult, lemon difficult not to climb the mountain of conflict.
Another me too
I have to say another vote for in concerning the pitch processors, along with some sort of stereo/multichannel field processors/controls.
Add my vote for pitch bender, please! Generate is useful too.
I don't know how it was determined that pitch bender wasn't used much. Everyone i know uses it. Setting the pitch bend to a straight line and changing the semitones produced the best sounding and quickest pitch shift. This is the greatest feature I missed when I switched to os x.
I agree with the others, there is no other software on the audio market which made possible so flexible pitch bender envelopes, including those beautiful spline curves. This is one feature that made Cool Edit, and Audition so unique, and I think this is a good reasoning why people have chosen it.
I saw only NI's Absynth there I could set flexible multi-point envelopes, but that is not enough
Make this feature a milestone, please!
Thanks for the feedback, I can assure you that it does matter and helps.
We have these (pitch bender, stereo processing and the generators) in our development backlog and your support for them helps us prioritize.
Colin S.
Sr. Program Manager - Audio
Adobe Systems, Inc
I'm not entirely up to date since I've been using 1.5 for the past years so I'm very relieved to see I'm not the only one to miss these! The generate menu and pitch bender are some of the features I use most! I was very excited to see Audition finally make it to mac but this certainly puts a bit of a damper on.
Off less inportance but still a shame not to see them here are the dynamic eq and the scientific filters.
Pitch bender is an extremely useful tool for broadcasters in order to disguise the voices of people who need to remain anonymous.
It's simple and quick to use. Please don't lose it!
+1 for pitch bender and generate functions
btw thanks so much adobe for doing this. today has been one of the happiest days of my life! no more windows!
Audition is great but better with generate menu
another +1 for pitch bender and generate. graphical pitch bender was a very quick way to play with an audio file to create new sounds, to get things to sound different, or a good way to demo a finalized mix to see how it sounded when shifted into a different frequency range. speeding up a sound for instance, could reveal low frequency reverb trails that might be hard to hear otherwise. additionally the graphical feature allowed one to emulate vinyl scratch manipulations and aggressive pitch transients/massive pitch drops.
Just noticed this missing feature in the last couple days and went online to add my two cents but I see that others have already done so. Add my name to the growing list of others who would like this feature included back in the application. Thank you!
Yup, I went to use this on my current piece and it was not there. (I searched for far too long as I was certain it would be there as it has been there since CE96)
Add another mark to the Generate menu (oh, and the items held within).
The comment made above that the users rarely use this... Where did that come from.
I was part of an Adobe focus study about a year ago and it involved Audition. There was no question about this. Knowing how much I use it personally and seeing how many folks also use it, I do not understand why such a statement would be made. Unless you ask a wide body of users (Not the folks who are on the development team) I am sure that this would not be the response. Now having not personally run a poll either... I could be wrong. ;-)
I used generate noise for everything from crou\wd noise to roller coaster SFX. The tones have been used in countless promos for all sorts of stuff. Generate silence... And that's all I am gwanna say about that.
Another user of the 'Generate' menu.
Specifically, I use the "Generate Tones" feature VERY frequently in my work. The Modulate/Demodulate, DC-Offset and Oscillator functions give users the ability to generate their own ring modulation effects or tone sweeps.
I must admit that I am baffled at the amount of "cuts" that Audition has for the Mac version. I can't imagine these 'cuts' would be a benefit for users who upgrade from the Windows side of things - yet at the same time giving Mac users less than what the WIndows users had to begin with (with either a prior or current version)?
I would like to note that these features are not gone forever from Audition. As much as it pains us, we simply did not have the luxury of more time to complete many of these things (hence the prioritization) and while that doesn't get you gen tones or pitch bender now, it should be worth knowing that we value those effects as much as anyone.
These are high on our list, even if they don't make this release.
Generate tone (sine waves) and a pitch bend envelope is a must for drum kick production! Adobe is my favorite daw. But without these two features, I might aswell stay with logic
Sad to see, that these functions are not implemented in Adobe Audition CS5.5 for Mac OS X.
They were even removed from the Windows version - I don't understand why was it necessary?
Adobe Audition 3 is still the best sound editing software ever in the audio industry, hard to believe that some people must use this old version because the lack of these functions.
Do you plan to implement these tools in the future versions?
These are on our to do list and are not forgotten nor will be gone forever...there's a few posts here by Durin, myself and others on the team about the general direction of Audition which speak in more general terms about features which didn't make it and why.


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Learn to Make Fancy Cheese Fondue
Kitchen Hack: How to Clean Up Bacon Grease
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I know. It's only been two days and I'm already back. There's just so much happening in the garden (and kitchen) right now and lots to share. My neck isn't hurting too much today. The trick seems to be more exercise, time spent outdoors, and a lot less time on the computer.
The forecast was calling for thunderstorms, so I spent the morning in the garden harvesting produce, particularly ripe tomatoes. Some varieties are prone to cracking when ripe, especially after a strong rainfall so I wanted to be sure to get them off of the vines before the storm hit.
I have also been neglectful about pruning and staking these past weeks and there were a few plants that had grown into multi-branched monsters. With their fruit growing heavier by the day, it was essential to stake the tangled mess to avoid breakage in case of strong rain and winds. While I was at it, I pruned out excess foliage to ensure good air flow all around the plants. I want to keep my plants happy and producing ripe fruit right through to the first frost.
To make things more informative, I have uploaded the photo (above) of tomatoes to my Flickr stream and have added notes indicating which varieties are which. There are a few more in this batch than there was in the August 13 photo. There are still a number of varieties that haven't even put out their first ripe fruit — many of which I have never grown nor tasted before. The fun never stops. Fortunately, I have got my taste for tomatoes back.
Some more of today's harvest is depicted here. 'Spanish Padron' peppers (harvest them small. They get hotter as they grow), pole beans ('Annelino Giallo' (my first year growing this variety) and 'Trionfo Violetto'), purslane (I let this weed grow and harvest the leaves for salads), Swiss chard and assorted herbs for my lunch. What is not shown is the giant amaranth I harvested to make West Indian callaloo soup, and an armload of mint that came off of plants that needed a good end-of-summer haircut.
I have a lot of canning and preserving work ahead of me these next days. A first batch of slow dried tomatoes have just come out of the oven (I regret using the 'Green Grape' variety. They are delicious fresh, but unpleasant when dried. Fortunately, 'Maglia Rosa' and 'Haley's Purple Comet' are nice.), another batch has gone in for sauce, and I've just finished washing the excess amaranth leaves in preparation for freezing.
What about you? Are your tomatoes producing yet? Are you drowning in the summer's bounty?


text: Hello Folks, Much is going on with the fight for access to Public records. We have already mentioned California's AB 130, where the Mother's Maiden name cannot be given with data files and Internet Indices. Correa and Hancock voted No. The following were absent, astaining or not voting: Ashburn, Calderon, DeSaulnier, Harman, Padilla and Wright. NOW, NOW is the time to write, call or Fax to: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-445-2841 Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number ) Or go to: http://govnews.ca.gov/govmail/webmail.php to send a E-mail. If you do not take a minute to notify Governor Schwarzenegger of our needs for this to *be vetoed*, we all will be sorry in the years to come. The other biggie is the closing of the Michigan State Library. Shirley Hodges reminds us to tell all Representatives and Senators that funding needs to keep the entire Library as it is now and keep it in the Library building that was built for that purpose. The final budget has to be approved by *Sept. 30.* You can sign a petition by going to: *http://www.petitiononline.com/RPAC2009/petition.html*<http://www.petitiononline.com/RPAC2009/petition.html> NOW IS THE TIME!!!! Good News: The Adams County, Nebraska Historical Society wanted the names of people buried in the cemetery attached to the Hastings Regional Center, a mental institution. They were denied access by the records custodian. The Historical Society said that the information constituted death records<http://www.rcfp.org/news/mag/33-1/unearthing_an_unusual_privacy_battle_19.html>, not medical records that might be covered by HIPAA, federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The high court in Nebraska agreed. The Nebraska open records law provides that medical records "other than records of births and deaths" may be withheld from the public. The court found that the cemetery information fell into the death-record category because it was even more limited than what is released to the public on an actual death certificate. Furthermore, the data sought did not describe the diagnosis or treatment of the individuals at the facility -- just their names and locations of burial. The court held that "HIPAA, does not bar release of the information" and, in fact, "provides for release of information when required by state law." As the records here were death records under Nebraska law, the court said, they must be released! So dear genealogists*, NOW IS THE TIME TO BE HEARD!!!* Liz Myers -- "Have a great day and a better tomorrow." Brian Smith, News-Enterprise -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ../attachments/20090916/58682d05/attachment.html


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Blazer Products' Spitfire micro torch features a unique upward angled head design, a slimmed down easy-grip body and precision flame adjustment which allows users to easily control flame type, length and strength. Also includes the piezo electric quartz crystal instant ignition system, which provides a fast reliable startup without the need for outside ignition sources, and child-resistant features.
Dual use micro torch
From Blazer Products
Product From Blazer Products
Expand for more details on this Product
Snap-on 'Muscle Mig' Wire Feed Welder, MM140SLProduct From Snap-on Inc.
The Snap-on 'Muscle Mig" Wire Feed welder welds up to 1/4" in a single pass and is used in body collision repair, automotive repair, maintenance, manufacturing applications and custom fabrication shops where voltage input is limited to 120V. It includes a cylinder rack, MIG torch with 10' cable and 20' power input cable. It comes with a 2-year warranty, except for the MIG torch and consumables
Victor 400 Series oxy-fuel torchProduct From Victor Technologies Group, Inc.
The Victor 400 Series oxy-fuel torch from Victor Technologies offers better ergonomics, a clearer view of the cutting path and visual cues for easier use and enhanced safety. The tool features a two-piece torch design. The patented contoured handle has size and shape that fits naturally in most operators' hands and a textured grip. To simplify use it has color-coded and labeled the oxygen and fuel valves for instant identification and easier operation. The tube design optimizes cutting area visibility while providing strength and supporting gas flow rate requirements for tip sizes 000 through 6.
- Product From Steck Manufacturing
The Mig Torch Holder, from Steck Manufacturing, attaches directly to the car so the torch head can be held close to the welding activity, eliminating the need to continually lay hot welding torch heads on the floor and pick them back up. Constructed of polypropylene with two prong metal 26mm rods to hold the hot torch head safely out of the way, th Mig Torch Holder also has spring-mounted floating magnets which allow it to adjust to the contour of the body panel. Designed to work with all common Mig, Tig and Plasma torch heads.
Automatic Piezo Ignition Torch, No. PT-200Product From Solder-It, Inc.
Solder-It's Piezo Ignition Torch, No. PT-200, features an automatic, child-resistant piezo ignition. This torch offers complete portability and Hi-Tech Polymer construction, making it lightweight yet sturdy. Provides a one-hour burn time per fill.
Professional Grade Butane Torch, No. GT220Product From Portasol USA
Portasol's Professional Butane Torch, No. GT220, is completely powered by butane; one tank of butane will run it for up to 60 minutes at mid-setting. The torch provides a flame temperature up to 2,462 degrees F. The flame is wind-resistant so the torch can be used inside or out and it's ready to melt solder in 30 seconds.
Modular Flex-Neck Torch Package, No. WP-225Product From Weldcraft
Weldcraft's Modular Flex-Neck Torch Package, No. WP-225, comes with WP-9 and WP-17 series 70-degree heads, a handle, water and gas hoses in 12.5- or 25-ft. lengths. Optional torch heads include the 9-90, 9P, 24, 1726P and 24-90. It offers water-cooling capabilities so there is less concern of the torch overheating.
Dura-Flux flux-cored welding gunProduct From Bernard Welding
Bernard Welding Equipment's Dura-Flux self-shielded flux-cored welding guns include a variety of trigger guards, cable lengths, neck styles and direct plugs. Bernard now offers six different cable lengths, from 8' to 25', and the choice between a small trigger guard and a large heat shield. Dura-Flux offers direct plugs for Miller, Lincoln, Euro and Tweco 4-wire feeders.
Model MT-70 Butane-powered MicrotorchProduct From Master Appliance
The durable, compact Model MT-70 Butane-powered Microtorch torch from Master Appliance features a fuel adjustment wheel to provide 2,500 degree sF pinpoint or broad blue torch flame. A self-igniting piezo electric ignition makes the torch easy to start and eliminates the need for lighters or matches. The self-contained, refillable butane fuel tank provides for up to 60 minutes of use on a full charge. A slide-lock control allows for hands-free use and instant-off operation. Optional tips allow the MT-70 to be used as a soldering iron or flameless heat tool.
Table-Top Microtorch No. MT-30Product From Master Appliance
The Master Appliance Table-Top Microtorch, No. MT-30, is self-igniting, produces a continuous "hands-free" adjustable flame up to 2,500 degrees F (1,300 degrees C), has a built-in refillable, metal fuel tank and runs approximately one hour on a full charge. The MT-30 offers an easy-to-use, built-in ignition system and includes a slide lock safety feature that prevents accidental ignition. Its 3" diameter circular base is both stable and compact. The MT-30 runs on Master Ultratane Butane Fuel.
Multi-Function 4-in-1 Heat Tool Kit No. ES-640CKProduct From Solder-It, Inc.
The Solder-It Multi-Function 4-in-1 Heat Tool Kit, No. ES-640CK, includes a soldering tip with a temperature range between 400 degrees F and 850 degrees F. The blow torch function reaches 2,400 degrees F. Operating time for one fill is 30 minutes. The kit includes the following: B-010 1.0mm Conical, B-024 2.4mm conical, B-124 2.4mm chisel, B-311 hot knife, B-610 deflector tip, 60/40 rosin core solder (1 mm diameter), cap, sponge and wrench.


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Entrepreneurial Management,
(617) 495-6136
Send Email
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Bruce Harreld retired from IBM in 2008 and joined Harvard Business School's faculty in early 2009. He is a frequent speaker and writer on implementing strategy, corporate transformation, and building new businesses in established organizations. He currently teaches two quite popular second year MBA courses focused on turnarounds and executing strategy. He teaches in numerous executive programs and is the faculty chair of "Building New Businesses within Established Organizations".
Joining IBM in October 1995, he worked to chart IBM's transformation and to ensure that IBM's early-90s "near-death experience" will never happen again. From 1995 to his retirement in 2008 Mr. Harreld led IBM's Strategy unit, which was responsible for the formulation and execution of the company's overall strategy. As part of this responsibility, Mr. Harreld directed IBM's Emerging Business Opportunities (EBO) program, a unique management system producing more than 20 new businesses for IBM – including multi-billion-dollar businesses in Life Sciences, Linux, Pervasive Computing, and Digital Media. The EBO program has become a model for growth inside IBM, and has attracted attention from leading academic institutions as well as companies seeking to build new businesses. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Harreld also served as senior vice president for IBM Marketing. In that capacity, he led IBM's marketing efforts which encompassed a wide range of growth activities designed to identify market opportunities, develop and communicate IBM's value proposition, coordinate go-to-market activities, as well as protect and strengthen the IBM brand, which is one of the most valued brands in the world.
Prior to joining IBM, Mr. Harreld was president of Boston Chicken, Inc., and served on the faculty of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He also held CIO and several line management positions at Kraft General Foods, Inc., and began his career at The Boston Consulting Group where he served as an officer and director. Mr. Harreld holds an MBA degree from Harvard University and a BS in industrial engineering and operations research from Purdue University.
Why Winners Become Losers
Professor Bruce Harreld shares his strategies on how prosperous companies can stay vital. For more information, visit: http://www.exed.hbs.edu/landing/Pages/smp.aspx
Competing Globally
Leaders from global companies face complex challenges. Bruce Harreld discusses how these challenges can translate into executable strategies. For more information, visit: http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/asei/Pages/default.aspx or http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/desch/Pages/default.aspx
Division of Faculty & Research
Harvard Business SchoolSoldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163


text:
Morrisey Weighs In on EPA Choices
February 12, 2013
WHEELING — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey sent President Barack Obama a letter urging him to consider the Mountain State's concerns about federal overreach as Obama seeks to replace......
government surveillance
1 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
IworkinPAnow, impact is obsessed with race, and this "black man in the White House" thing. He's made that comment so many times, he's probably under Government survellience by now.
1 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
impact are you calling me a racist?
I was always told those who call the race card are the true racist. racist.
I don't care who is the POTUS. Just run a moral platform.
0 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Until you understand Agenda21, you should not make comments about the EPA...They work for Obama, (SHADOW GOVERNMENT.)and the UN .. They redistribute US wealth to other countries.. There is nothing wrong about cleaning up the state, but this a front for the United nations... Edu yourself and read about Agenda 21..There is a lot of info on the internet...God Bless
1 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Why would any citizen of West Virginia (Wild and Wonderful) be angry with the Environmental PROTECTION Agency???
The environment is where we live, the land, the water, the air,the wildlife and the people living there.
This is not where coal company owners live nor where our retired politicians live.
Let's play the hypocrite card.
Say no, to the "War on Where We Live."
2 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
impact "right wing losers who are furious that there is still a black man in the White House"
Oh. The racist card. Again. How droll. yawn...
2 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
PAnow, the coal fired plants in which the respective power companies have invested millions are NOT slated for shut down. It's the older out-moded plants that are being closed, and many for reasons other than the EPA. This whole war on coal thing is just a farce created by right wing losers who are furious that there is still a black man in the White House.
1 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
President Obama has no more regard for WV than the carpet under his feet and anyone who thinks differently is goofy. This President only deals with certain segments of the population and certain areas, the rest of us are just dirt to him. Coal can have a role in the energy answer and certainly gas is the best answer that can really help us bridge the gap from fossil to alternative energy. But Obama is not really doing anything about much of anything, he just barks and runs back and forth for interest groups or voting blocks, domestic and foreign. Isn't it odd that in his zeal for clean energy, the cleanest fossil fuel, gas, is also his target, and he never mentions hydro which is the most reliable and proven non fossil fuel. The UMWA supports Obama. How funny is that? I am a moderate Dem but can admit that there is nothing more pathetic than a Dem trying to convince people (or themselves) that Obama is somehow good for WV. So sad its kinda funny.
2 Agrees | 3 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
I gues I see it like this
EPA do your job without political persuasion. Just report the facts, and base your agenda on the real impact of industrial processes in your district.
ie. The Follansbee Coke plant, on a warm summers day with the wind in the right direction when I leave my home in the morning north of Wierton I can smell the benzene bombarding my bodies cells. Yet you are able to function with ill intentions to the people in this community. You have spent zero $ to remedy this.
Coal fired power plants in this area have spent $millions on emmission equip. and are being slated to be shut down.
What gives?
0 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
So, in Patrick Morrisey's world "ethics" are defined by what's best for corporations, not people.
3 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Wasting no time representing his out of state corporate financiers. This guy doesn't give a*****about West Virginians.
3 Agrees | 2 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
I can just imagine how impressed President Obama will be when he receives Attorney General Morrison's letter. How fortunate we are to have a well-respected, black-hearted, right-wing extremist able to persuade our President to grant his coal company contributors emancipation. Charlie Ballouz has more influence with President Obama than our xenophobic, carpet-baggng, Attorney Corporal.
4 Agrees | 2 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
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Black And White Colobus at the Toledo Zoo. The adult monkey on the right is holding a 6 day old baby colubus on its chest - you can see the head just over the top of the branch in the foreground of the picture. The young have pure white fur for the first weeks of their life. (Toledo, Ohio, March 1999)
Patricia Jones (photographer; copyright holder), Animal Diversity Web
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
To cite this page: Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2014. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed at http://animaldiversity.org.
Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DUE-0633095 and DRL-0628151.
The ADW Team gratefully acknowledges their support.


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To contact ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND CO, please visit . Company data is provided by Capital IQ. Please use this form to report any data issues.
Our data partners will research the update request and update the information on this page if necessary. Research and follow-up could take several weeks. If you have questions, you can contact them at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Simplicity answers all of your frequently asked questions about zero turn mowers, lawn tractors and snow blowers. Below, navigate FAQs by selecting a category and entering a key word. Example category "Snow Blower Maintenance," type in keyword "storage."
If you need additional help, locate a Simplicity Dealer in your area.
What would prevent my engine from starting?
What do I do to prepare my Simplicity for the mowing season?